1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a biometric apparatus and, more specifically, to a biometric apparatus provided with a biometric data acquiring unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various biometric apparatuses which are able not only to weigh the weight of a measured person but also to calculate other biometric data such as the percent body fat, the percent body moisture and so on have been proposed. Such biometric apparatuses generally include four electrode members arranged on a cover member which configures an upper surface of a casing. The electrode members include two sets of conducting electrode and measuring electrode. When the measured person places his/her one foot on one set of the conducting electrode and the measuring electrode, and the other foot on the other set of the conducting electrode and the measuring electrode, respectively, measurement of the biometric data is carried out simultaneously with measurement of the weight. With the biometric apparatus of this type, since an electric current is applied from the two conducting electrodes which come into contact with the toes of the both feet of the measured person and the voltage is detected by the two measuring electrodes which come into contact with the heels, the four electrode members are placed at predetermined positions on the upper surface of the casing (Japanese examined patent application publication 5-49050).
However, with the biometric apparatus in the related art described above, there is a possibility to fail the accurate measurement when the measured person gets on the apparatus in an unexpected orientation. It is a case, for example, when an attempt is made to calculate the biometric data in a state in which the right foot is placed on the two conducting electrodes and the left foot is placed on the two measuring electrodes. In other words, although the measurement should be done by flowing the electric current between the tows of the both feet via both legs (lower body half) and measuring the voltage generated in this current route between the heels of the both feet, the current in this case flows between the toe and the heel of the right foot. Therefore, the voltage generated in this current route (right leg portion) cannot be measured between the toe and the heel of the left foot, and hence the bioimpedance cannot be measured.
There is a case in which the front, rear, left and right are not apparent depending on the appearance design of the biometric apparatus, and hence the measured person is confused in the orientation to get on. In addition, in the case of the biometric apparatus in which a measuring portion having the electrode members and a display portion are separate, being able to get on the measuring portion freely in any orientations is expected.